Research & Clinical Studies
MAXM Skate vs. CPM Machine: What's the Difference?
A CPM machine is motorized and moves your leg for you. The MAXM Skate is an active device you drive yourself, with sensors that track your range of motion as you go.
What Is a CPM Machine?
A continuous passive motion (CPM) machine is a motorized device that straps to your leg and moves it through a set range of motion for you, while you stay passive. It's typically used in the earliest days after a knee or hip procedure, when moving the joint yourself is difficult or not yet advised.
What Is the MAXM Skate?
The MAXM Skate is a different kind of device: a roller-skate-style unit that straps to your foot, paired with a handheld lead you use to drive your own knee-bending motion. Built-in sensors and a companion app track your range of motion, flexion and extension, in real time, so your progress is measured rather than guessed at.
Passive vs. Active: Why It Matters
A CPM machine moves you. The MAXM Skate has you do the moving, with resistance and tracking built in. Neither is "better" in the abstract, they typically fit different stages of recovery, and which one (or both, at different points) is right for you is a call for your surgeon or physiotherapist to make.
Does Either One Get Delivered to Your Door?
Modern Recovery Lab distributes the MAXM Skate in Canada as a purchase, not a rental. It ships to you directly with secure checkout.
Common questions
Is the MAXM Skate a CPM machine?
No. A CPM (continuous passive motion) machine is motorized and moves your leg for you while you stay passive. The MAXM Skate is an active device: you drive the movement yourself, using a handheld lead, while sensors track your range of motion.
Which one does a surgeon typically recommend?
It depends on the protocol and how soon after surgery you are. Some patients use a CPM machine in the earliest days for passive motion, then move to active devices like the MAXM Skate as they're cleared for more effort. Follow your own surgeon's specific instructions.
Does the MAXM Skate track my recovery progress?
Yes — it ships with sensors and a companion app that record range of motion (flexion and extension) from each session, so both you and your clinical team can see objective progress rather than relying on how a session felt.
The MAXM Skate is currently discontinued in Canada.
See the MAXM Skate